How to Describe Complex Designs for Users with Disabilities
<p>You’re a developer who has just been handed a complex design spec. You know the designs support accessibility because your UX team read a <a href="https://medium.com/salesforce-ux/7-things-every-designer-needs-to-know-about-accessibility-64f105f0881b" rel="noopener">Medium post about accessible design</a> a few months back. It’s now up to you to build an accessible experience, but where should you begin?</p>
<p>There is the <a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">WCAG 2.0</a>, which is widely respected as “the truth” as it relates international accessibility standards. There is also the <a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/wai-aria/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">WAI-ARIA specification</a> which is an important part of any accessibility focused developer’s toolkit. Going back in time, there’s the U.S. Federal Government’s standard, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.</p>
<p>While not known for enduring relevance, the technical accessibility standards in Section 508 contains one very sage suggestion. It states that,</p>
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<p>“… sufficient information about a user interface element including the <strong>identity, operation and state</strong> of the element shall be available to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistive_technology" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">assistive technology</a>.”</p>
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<p>Originally written for software, these words are even more relevant today given the prevalence of web based applications. They describe the type of information users with disabilities need in order to successfully complete a task. This could be a blind user with a <a href="http://webaim.org/techniques/screenreader/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">screen reader</a>, a voice input user with a physical disability, or any number of other types of users with a variety of assistive technologies.</p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/salesforce-ux/how-to-describe-complex-designs-for-users-with-disabilities-ba05f5224130">Read More</a></p>